topographic_drama1980 wrote:What if the band would've played more Keys material live?

I think it was a BIG mistake to not tour the Keys material. Used to - when a new album was released you'd hear the majority of it during the tour. Kept the band fresh in people's minds, and I'm sure it spurred record/CD sales.

Talk was toured that way, but OYE/The Ladder not so much, and the Keys material not at all. Magnification only had 2-3 cuts played live, and that's a BIG shame. When you don't tour your new material, you become a nostalgia act, unfortunately.

I think I agree with you there. Sure the classics are important but if you've just made an album and then you don't tour it, it's as if you aren't proud of the songs' quality on there. When writing new songs it seems natural to tour with them; it's part of the process. Only performing main-era stuff is sort of the safe option, you know where you stand and how well you will go down. But to add to that a bunch of fresh songs is much more appealing to me. And even though some of them are crap, at least your trying.

If there was an album and subsequent tour we particularly hated- we can always go and listen to Yessongs again!

One thing that caught my mind, I was listening to the KeyStudio CD a couple nights ago, and I was thinking, what if they would've just brought in a different keyboardist to play on the original planned tour for the Keys material? I know for most Yes fans, the ideal keyboard player is Rick Wakeman, but he had other commitments going on, solo stuff, and they were actually going to play a good bit of this music live. Nothing against Open Your Eyes being released as I do like that album, but it was just a thought. I know people make different decisions and choices and sometimes different circumstances are unfortunately out of the band's control, but it's something to think about. I like most of the songs from that period and it's a shame you don't hear much about it at all. I'm sure "Be The One" would've been a powerful live performance along with even "That, That Is" and we all know "Mind Drive" is excellent, at least I'm assuming most of us are on that side of the fence.

I'm not trying to sound like I know everything here, but I'm just really digging into the history of one of my all-time favorite rock bands and examining certain events that did/didn't, would've, could've, and should've happened.

The thing is though, now that I think of it, if this would've happened, would Billy Sherwood have become a member of Yes or would he have just stayed a producer? And Billy, if you happen to be reading this, this is no slight on you, just a thought from a caring Yes fan.

Well, Billy was a touring member for the Talk tour, but that was it at that point. During the Keys period, he wasn't a member until Open Your Eyes was being recorded. I was just wondering what could've been had the band just found someone else to play the keyboards for the original tour that was supposed to take place. This was right before Billy became an official member during the time of OYE.

tardistraveler wrote:The Ladder not so much, and the Keys material not at all. Magnification only had 2-3 cuts played live, and that's a BIG shame. When you don't tour your new material, you become a nostalgia act, unfortunately.

Ladder got plenty of exposure on the tour documented by House of Yes. Agree that Mag didn't get much exposure. Regarding the "laundry list" wow...where to start?
Regarding Mag... they "promised" better promotion for the band...they simply didn't get it, but let's face it Yes were pretty far removed from mainstream music at that time. Nobody really missed them.
So on to the question next in line...rearding Atlantic records? What would they have done with them?
Face it business has changed, hell it changed a long time ago. It's not the 70's the "machine" only wants you if you can churn out "hits".
Reading a post on another site by Billy Sherwood leads me to believe he has a very viable way for Yes to continue. DIY! Record, produce new music and then sell it on their website! Who needs Atlantic?

They haven't been on Atlantic for quite a while. They were on smaller labels such as Victory, but who knows if they even have a label at this point.

Insofar as "Magnification" is concerned, keep in mind that not only was the album delayed but wasn't it rescheduled to come out in the week of 09-11-01? That certainly didn't help.

As for "The Ladder," the song "Homeworld" was also tied in with the video game of the same name in 1999. The game didn't exactly become the next "Myst," but it was better than no product tie-in at all.

At this point, the band should just take Billy Sherwood's DIY advice. Control everything from studio time/location to producer to final product. This way in case something goes amiss, they'll have no one to blame but themselves. I know I'll be buying the new album regardless when it comes out. After seeing their opening show last night, I want to see if that energy translates from the stage to the studio. I hope it does.

Although, given the drive of Jon to do just what he wanted, he probably would have made up a band by other means with equally good musicians. But maybe that band would have been really crap. OR even better than Yes as we know it. Who can tell?

topographic_drama1980 wrote:What if Phil Collins actually auditioned for the drummer spot and got the gig back in '68?

-Jon Anderson would have left for an immensely successful solo career around 1975 and Phil would take over lead vocals.

What if Peter Banks wasn't let go from the band?

-Prolly would have done a couple more albums and disappeared.

What if the 8-man Union touring line-up stayed together and recorded an album?

- They would have killed each other.

What if the Going For The One album would've been recorded with Moraz instead of Wakeman? (Moraz was still a member when they were rehearsing for the album.)

- It wouldnt have been nearly as good. The keys on that album are SO Wakeman. I dont think Awaken would have sounded good with electric piano or jazzy synth noodlings. It may have been an early Tormato. Relayer and GTFO are like night and day and I dont see how Pat could fit on that material at all.

What if Robert Fripp would've become Yes's guitarist after Peter left instead of Steve?

- I honest don't think he could take all the sunshine.

What if the Drama lineup stayed together and made another album together?

- If it were successful, that could possibly mean that Seal wouldn't exist.

What if Eddie Jobson would've stayed with the band after Tony Kaye briefly left in '83 before the 90125 tour?

- Thats an interesting one! Hmm....

What if Big Generator would've gotten released a year before it did, like it should have?

- It would have fit the mold of aging legendary rockers all releasing REALLY REALLY bad albums in 1986!

What if Billy Sherwood became the singer in Yes in the late 80's after Jon left? (He was considered at the time, along with Steve Walsh and Roger Hodgson.)

- People would have lost interest even sooner, and they have have ceased to exist.

What if the band would've played more Keys material live?

- GLad they didnt. when they finally got around to playing mind drive live it was that much more awesome.

What if Open Your Eyes had more input from Steve or Jon?

- still would have sucked. Shit, it was Open Your Eyes.

What if Magnification was released here in America at the same time it was released everywhere around the world instead of three long months later?

- Woulda got the disappointment out of the way sooner. Despite most fans liking it I just couldn't dig it.

What if Yes would've been able to get their deal back with Atlantic Records?

They still wouldnt have pushed them properly.

These are a lot of random questions I thought of, just for something different. Some are hypothetical, except the last two, which are more serious. What are your thoughts, everyone?

These are very good what-ifs! The one that I've always wondered about is Pat Moraz playing on GFTO. I would loved to have heard that! I think of maybe 2 outcomes for this: The album may have sounded more jazzy and I'm sure a Rhodes piano would've been in there somewhere. Would there have been the church organ in Awaken? For that track alone I'm glad Rick was there, but after hearing Pat's work with the Moody Blues that he did after Yes (check out Long Distance Voyager) it might have made Tormato more interesting!

Then there's the 8-man line-up. I saw them at Wembley and they were fantastic! But a longer spell I have that saying in mind "too many cooks spoil the broth" so I personally don't think that 2 drummers and keyboardists were necessary long term. But as I love guitar music I would love to hear Howe & Rabin working together on at least 1 album. I wonder how Talk would've turned out, with Steve's contributions and Rick on keys?

I can think of 2 other what-ifs? 1. Billy Sherwood played on Talk tour along with Trevor Rabin, so what if that line-up stayed together but Tony still left and Rick rejoined? 2. In 1982 Jon Anderson made a single with Mike Oldfield called Shine. Apparently they didn't get on too well (according to an interview with Mike) but what if they had got on better and recorded a whole album together?

In reality, I'm just glad that Yes are still going and look forward to their next album. And I admire Jon Davison for having the guts to sing Awaken and do such a good job at it!

Yes, I've always wondered myself what would have happened if Pat had stayed around longer. I saw him with Yes 9 times and really liked him with the band, so I was looking forward to their next effort only to find that he was gone and Rick had rejoined. Also saw him solo back in the 90's and it was an amazing show - he just threw his whole body into the piano. It was a small group so we all got to talk with him - a very nice and gracious man.

Just thought of a new "what if". With all the various side projects that have happened with Yes, and the projects now, I was wondering: What if GTR reformed but with Benoit David on vocals instead of Max Bacon? What other side projects would you like to see revised or future ones? Like Inventioning, Anderson Ponty Band, or Anderson Wakeman Rabin?